Consumer/market preference for set top boxes and the like (such as computers, game consoles, DVD players, CD players, etc.) is to have such devices be small/compact. However, this requirement is becoming increasingly challenging, because set top boxes and the like are required to perform more functions, which require more internal components. This results in more challenges to appropriately manage the heat which is potentially detrimental, in these devices.
Wireless antennae have become one of the key components of many set top boxes and the like. However, these antennae enhance many of the challenges that the designer must face in designing advanced set top boxes and the like.
For example, to minimize the risk of electrostatic discharge associated with antennae, the major form of set top boxes have been enlarged to accommodate the vertical orientation of wireless antennae. The reason is wireless antennae for set top boxes are most often rectangular in shape and must be oriented inside the box to give the best performance possible. This means that there should be adequate clearance from metal parts in the box and that placement and orientation of antennae must be as diverse as possible within the box to work effectively with other internal components. Thus, the presence of the antennae enhances heat management concerns, because clearance needed about the periphery of the antennae coupled with the consumer preference for compactness and plurality of functions further concentrates the heat generating components within the set top box.
However, when such larger sizes of the set top box or the like that are associated with the vertical orientation of antennae are not deemed acceptable to the customer's preference, antennae have been oriented horizontally. This has unfortunately reduced antennae performance. As such, the trade-off has been that smaller size boxes commensurate with a horizontally oriented antenna have been produced with non-optimal antenna performance. In short, with the consumer/market aesthetics preference for electronic devices such as set top boxes to be as small and slim as possible, horizontal form factors are often the result and required, and with these form factors is the understanding of increasing component concentration, which increases the need for excellent heat management.
As such, a need exists for an antenna assembly that can function properly as an antenna, but yet meet consumer/market aesthetic requirements for a sufficiently slim electronic device in which there is a reduced propensity for electrostatic discharge.
Additionally, the need for slim devices to include many functionalities and many interior components causes such devices to generate excessive heat in general; and as such, the need for heat sinks is required. It is even more necessary to employ effective heat sinks when the consumer market demands that such devices such as set top boxes and the like to be quiet, because this requirement means that the use of fans is discouraged.
Unfortunately, heat sinks can be a good source for electrostatic discharge for antennae if the heat sink is too close to the antennae. This means that heat sink placement in devices with antennae in crowded devices needs to be accurate and precise to ensure that in mass production heat sinks will not cause electrostatic discharge.
Additionally, the aesthetic demands for smaller design forms of electronic devices cause printed circuit board components to be placed very close to each other and to heat sink mounting points, and as such, these demands create an opportunity for printed circuit board components to be damaged during assembly of the heat sinks to the printed circuit boards. This is especially so in high volume production environments. Hence, this risk of physical damage also creates a need to accurately and precisely align heat sinks in a safe manner.
With the above challenges in mind, the objectives of the present principles effectively address the above mentioned needs.